A Different Kind of Gift
by barney-mugger
Summary: What if when Buffy died in The Gift, she went to a different type of heaven? The kind of heaven where you can watch what’s happening on Earth? Will this change Buffy’s opinion of the Scoobs, a certain vampire in particular? Spuffy!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters from the Buffyverse, Joss does etc blah etc.

Summary: What if when Buffy died in The Gift, she went to a different type of heaven? The kind of heaven where you can watch what's happening on Earth? Will this change Buffy's opinion of the Scoobs, a certain vampire in particular? Spuffy!

Buffy's face was contorted in pain- her expression flashing from agony to peace as she fell gracefully from the sky, hitting the unforgiving concrete below her in a tangle of limbs.

Her friends and Spike surrounded her body, tears pouring down each of their faces, Willow clutching Tara in hysterical pain and Spike trembling with undisguised lament.

Dawn hugged Giles close to her, the last words of her sister echoing in her mind: _The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. _

Buffy shook her head in confusion. Her friends were crying so much what was the matter with them- and then it all came pouring back. Glory. The jump off the tower into the portal. Then Buffy turned her eyes to the ground and saw the source of her friend's distress- her body lying spread out on the ground, her eyes closed in what seemed to be peace. Buffy stared at her face in bewilderment- if her body was there, and she was here, did that mean she had become a ghost?

"Guys! Hey guys!" Buffy waved her hand in front of Willow's face. "Hello?"

Willow just kept crying, staring right through Buffy's hand.

"Huh?" Buffy stared at her hand, which was fading by the second. "Oh no!"

Her whole arm had disappeared, and as Buffy watched her other arm vanished, and then her torso, and before she knew it she was no longer standing in front of her friends. She was standing somewhere that looked a lot like Sunnydale, but something was different. Buffy couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off.

She walked around slowly, and then spotted a very familiar place. Buffy ran towards it- if this was where she thought she was…

Buffy eased open the door, hearing a pitter-patter of footsteps coming down the steps. Barely daring to hope, Buffy hesitantly called out, "Mom?"


	2. Chapter 2

The footsteps stopped, and then started again, drawing closer to Buffy. "Mom?" Buffy called out again, fear creeping slightly into her voice.

A figure then appeared in the doorway in front of her- a reasonably slender, tall woman, close-cropped hair bouncing lightly around her shoulders. It was definitely not Joyce Summers. The woman stepped into the light, and Buffy gasped in recognition.

"Ms Calendar?!"

Jenny smiled gently. "Hello, Buffy. I knew you'd be coming."

"How? And…where exactly am I?" Buffy asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"We're in a place which people have many different names for. I guess you could call it heaven."

Buffy frowned. That made sense…after all, she was dead, and so was Jenny. For some reason, that didn't bother Buffy so much. She understood what the First Slayer had meant now- death was her gift. She had saved the world from unspeakable terror, and most importantly, she had saved Dawn. The gift of her life had ensured that the world could stay as it was, and that Dawn and her friends could keep on living.

"But if we're in Heaven, then why does it look like Sunnydale? And you still haven't told me how you knew I was coming."

"Heaven looks how you want it to. This is obviously your idea of heaven- Sunnydale, yet, a peaceful and non-violent Sunnydale, unlike the demon infested Sunnydale that you knew. I'm here because this is my heaven too, and same with all the others you see walking around. Your idea of heaven is very similar to theirs. As for how I knew you were coming…follow me." Jenny waved her arm towards where Buffy's bedroom was, and Buffy followed her dutifully up the stairs. Opening the door carefully, Ms Calendar stepped inside and motioned for Buffy to follow. Once she had, Buffy gaped in amazement over what she could see. Covering one entire wall was what appeared to be a TV screen, but what was playing on it was impossible. The shaky tower in the background was unmistakeably Glory's crazy people tower, the one off which Buffy had met her fate. Her friends were still clustered around Buffy's dead body, but Spike and Giles were covering her with a sheet, tucking in the ends and carrying her off.

Buffy covered her mouth with her hand, a couple of tears leaking out of her eyes. Jenny watched sympathetically, understanding how the young woman felt. She had felt exactly the same way when she had visited her apartment to find her uncle standing there, ready to show her what had happened to the television in her living room. Jenny had to contend with watching Buffy's showdown with Angelus and Acathla, and feeling helpless when she saw her disk containing the information to restore Angel's soul slip off her desk into a dusty crack, where it would not be retrieved until it was too late. She had cried with Rupert when he had buried her body, and celebrated when the Scoobies had defeated the Mayor on their graduation day. Jenny knew of the heaven where you knew of nothing that was going on, on Earth- all you knew was that everyone you cared for was safe, and you were happy. But she also knew that in order to get there you had to stop wondering what was happening on Earth- stop wanting to see. Jenny shook her head- how could you stop speculating?

Buffy was still watching the screen, but she seemed more detached. Her glistening eyes were red rimmed, and Jenny could see the slight shake to her fingers. Buffy had changed her mind- she didn't want to be dead anymore. She cared. She wanted to talk to her friends, go back to college, tickle Dawn, and patronize Spike. Buffy considered her last thought and dismissed it. It had never really occurred to Buffy that Spike was actually in love with her- she had always convinced herself it was another of his sick and stupid jokes. Or some kind of lame infatuation that he'd be over in a few weeks, month's maybe. But seeing him so obviously broken over her death made her think. If he was so upset- just as upset as any of her friends…

Buffy shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking of those things. There was a far more pressing question on her mind.

"Ms Calendar?" Buffy asked quietly, half dreading, half hoping that Ms Calendar would know the answer to her question, "Where…where's my mom?"

Jenny took a deep breath- she had been hoping to avoid this subject for a bit longer. "Buffy…your mom isn't in this heaven."

Buffy's eyes widened- not so much in shock, but in distress. Her face grew steadily paler, and Jenny put her hand on Buffy's shoulder to steady her.

(A/N: Hey you. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, made me very happy! Hope you like my portrayal of heaven, etc and d/w, the Spuffyness will start soon, just gearing up the story. Thanks!)


	3. Chapter 3

"Where- where is she?" Buffy stammered.

"I'm afraid I don't actually know. Believe me, if I knew I would tell you. All I know is that she's not here." Jenny answered as gently as she could, not wanting to overload the poor Slayer in one day. Jenny knew what horrors Buffy had lived through in the past few days, and she knew there would be more grief to come. It was unbearable to watch the goings on down on Earth, but unbearable not too. Jenny sat Buffy down on the edge of her bed and let her cry, getting up after a few minutes and tiptoeing to the door.

"Remember Buffy, if you need me, I'll be around."

Buffy nodded her head in silent thanks, turning her attention back to the screen in front of her.

After a few days in Heaven, Buffy seemed to have run out of tears. She watched the Scoobies on Earth at least once a day, but occasionally found time to leave the solitude of the remake of her house. On the third day, Buffy opened her closet to find a massive selection of outfits, all ones she had coveted in recent times. Allowing herself a small grin, Buffy pulled out a Prada skirt she had secretly been wanting for a few months before the Glory disaster had begun. Tugging it on, Buffy walked out her front door into what seemed to be the main street of Sunnydale. All her favourite places were bunched together- the Bronze was sitting next to her favourite coffee shop and the mall was on the other side. Smiling once again, Buffy walked over to the coffee shop and slid into a curlicue chair, waving a waiter over.

"Um, yeah, I'll have a mocha," Buffy asked, then did a double take as she recognized the waiter. "Jesse?"

Jesse's mouth curled into a grin. "Hi, Buffy. I was wondering when I'd see you up here."

He was sixteen still- Buffy noticed his adolescent eyes roaming all over her exposed flesh with a small amount of humour.

"Jesse, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to save you from Darla," Buffy said, the guilt that had been buried several years ago resurfacing again.

Jesse waved his hand. "No probs Buff. I mean, I was pretty pissed for the first few months. But when I watched Xand and Will and how much good you do on Earth…and it didn't hurt that you're still a bona fide hottie." His cheeky grin widened.

Buffy couldn't help but smile. Jesse certainly did seem ok, but he had been dead for at least five years, so he'd had sometime to adjust. "So you watched Xander and Willow from up here?" Buffy asked, wondering exactly how many people had been watching when she had jumped off the tower, not to mention her daily life.

"Yeah. I watched all your big showdowns- my personal favourite was Graduation, when you blew up the high school, but I also liked when you used those cards to destroy that Adam guy. Sometimes we have apocalypse parties and everyone goes to the cinema to watch you and your gang face off with the latest Big Bad."

Buffy was speechless. "Apocalypse parties?" she managed to choke out.

"Hell yeah. Mostly people just watch their own friends and family, but when there's a big juicy serve of end of the world pie, people can't get enough. Quite a lot of the girls around here are divided over whether or not you should be going out with Angel or Spike."

Buffy's mouth was hanging wide open. She couldn't believe this- it was almost as if she was Heaven's reality TV. But still, she didn't at all mind the thought that people (even dead ones) could see all that she had to go through. After all, it was sometimes a huge bummer to be a superhero and yet hardly anyone knew of all your brilliant work.

"Don't worry though Buffy, it's only the big showdowns people watch," Jesse reassured her, "Jenny and I are really the only ones around here who watch day to day life of the Scoobies, me watching my family and sometimes Willow and Xand and Jenny watching Giles."

Buffy nodded, and opened her mouth to say something, but was distracted as two teenagers ran up. "Oh my god! It's Buffy Summers! We really hoped you'd come to our heaven!"

Buffy's jaw was set swinging again. It was like she was some kind of celebrity!

Jesse waved the girls away. "Come on girls, she only got here a few days ago! You know how hard it is to adjust."

The giggling subsided and the girls walked off, chattering quietly.

Jesse was apologetic. "Gosh, I'm sorry. I know how tough it is when you first get here, and everyone down on Earth is really upset and you're upset because you're not with them…"

Buffy shook her head experimentally, as if trying to get water out of her ears. "No, it's ok, but it's so strange. At least it keeps my mind off other things."

Jesse handed her a coffee that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. "Don't worry, it gets easier."


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy learnt a lot about Heaven from Jesse. He told her about some other Sunnydale daisy pushers, as well as a few people who had ended up in this Heaven simply because it was a peaceful, quiet town and that was all they required.

Halfway through an explanation of how the same heaven could look slightly different to different people, Jesse broke off and waved over a man in an obnoxious shirt.

"Jesse! How is my favourite coffee maker on this fine day?" the man spoke with the lilting and yet rough tone of the Irish, and plonked down in the seat across from Buffy.

"Buffy Summers! Well I'll be damned. Didn't think I'd be seeing you up here for awhile!"

Buffy gazed at the man in confusion for a moment, then realised where she had seen him before. In her brief encounter with Angel in LA she had been hastily introduced to his two assistants, and this guy was one of them. D something.

"Doyle. We met before?" Doyle offered.

Buffy smiled at him; despite the pang she had felt when she realised his connection with Angel. "Hey. Yeah, I remember."

"Doyle's fairly new to this heaven," Jesse supplied, "he only arrived here a few months ago from a different one."

"So you can move heavens?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Sure," Jesse said, "quite a lot of people do."

Buffy felt hope surge in her chest- there was still a chance she could see her Mom again!

Another question was also pressing on her mind. "How's Angel?"

"Angel's fine. A bit 'grrr' still, but there's not really a cure for that now is there?"

Buffy nodded. "And Cordy?"

An expression crossed Doyle's face, and Buffy instantly wished she hadn't asked. Despite the fact she wouldn't call the disparaging cheerleader her friend, she did have a certain soft spot for her.

"Cordy's fine too. Acting up a storm, busting evil every week." However when he spoke Doyle's face was strained, and Buffy realised what the problem was. Doyle was in love with Cordelia.

"Oh. That's great. That they're fine. Umm…" Buffy fumbled for a change of subject, and accidentally blurted out the first thing that popped into her mind, "How did you die?"

Doyle laughed, with humour. "Cut straight to the chase, don'tcha? I got vaporized."

Taken aback, Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Vaporized?"

"Yeah. This army thing built a device that vaporized anyone in a certain radius with human blood in them."

"Oh." Buffy wasn't quite sure what else to say.

"And how about you? What does it take to knock off a Slayer?"

"I…jumped."

Doyle looked shocked. "Suicide?"

"Oh, no! I jumped into a giant portal that this hell god called Glory opened to save my sister and the rest of the world…"

"Don't worry, man, I got the whole thing on DVD," Jesse told Doyle, "you can borrow it from me if you want."

Doyle nodded, looking slightly dazed. "Sure."

"Well guys, it's been fun, but I really should get going," Buffy said, standing up from her curlicue little chair. "Thanks for the coffee Jesse, and nice to meet you again Doyle. I'm sure I'll see you both around soon."

"Bye Buffy!" Jesse waved.

"See ya lass," Doyle answered, swigging from a Guinness that had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

Buffy waved to both the men and made her way slowly back to her house, opening the front door quietly and slipping up to her room, where she kicked off her flats and sat down in front of the massive TV. Pulling the remote out from where it was wedged between her pillow, Buffy pressed the ON button, which was quickly followed by the one labelled _Sunnydale. _The screen flickered for a moment before it cleared onto the Summer's living room, where a dejected looking Dawn was plonked on the couch in a mind numbing routine of dipping her hand in a popcorn bowl, into her mouth and back into the bowl. The TV in front of her flashed with some soapie, which the teenager obviously wasn't paying much attention to. Dawn jumped as someone rapped loudly on the front door, causing a popcorn spillage she grumbled about for a moment before rising to see who was knocking.

She returned to the room a moment later with someone who made Buffy's heart shiver a little- Spike sat uninvited into a large armchair and looked up at the girl.

"Hey Nibblet."

"Spike, you don't have to come over every night to watch me you know. Willow, Tara and the Buffy Bot are all here." Dawn replied, though the small flush of colour in her cheeks indicated that she didn't want him to leave.

"I know Bit, but I made big sis a promise. I said I would protect you no matter what." Spike flicked at his lighter, touching the flame to the end of a cigarette he'd pulled out of coat pocket.

"Well, I bet by protecting me she almost meant not to give me cancer!" Dawn snatched the cigarette from Spike's jaws and dropped it on the floor, presumably to attempt the stamp the cool people did in movies. Alas, though, it didn't work and the carpet caught alight.

"Ahhhh!" Dawn and Spike screaming in unison, jumping on top of the armchair Spike had just been occupying and hopping around in panic, shrieking and yelling.

"Put it out!" Dawn squealed, clutching his arm.

"You want to have to get ash as well as a burn out of your carpet?"

Up amongst the clouds, Buffy cracked up. She couldn't stop laughing, despite the fact she was concerned about her sister, and for some reason, Spike, she just found the situation extremely hilarious.

Meanwhile, the Buffy Bot heard the screaming and decided to investigate, entering the living room with an exclamation of "Time to slay! Vampires of the world, beware!"

Seeing the fire trapping Dawn and Spike she rushed over and attempted to stamp on the flames, causing them to erupt up her body reminiscent of a volcano!

The Buffy Bot added her own 'scream' to the mix, and then charged out of the room and up the stairs, yelling "I must find Willow for repairs!"

As she ran, Buffy Bot added more fire to the banister of the stairs, an ominous roar encasing the wood in blaze.

"Oh my god!" Dawn shrieked, "Willow! Tara!"

A moment later, Willow and Tara appeared at the top of the stairs, apparently having been alerted by the Buffy Bot.

Willow shouted an incantation over the crackle of the flames and the fire instantly vanished, leaving no trace on any of the furniture or the carpet. Buffy Bot was less lucky- one side of her face had melted away to expose the metal underneath, and her fingers were charred.

Dawn and Spike turned to face each other, then quickly let go. "Wimp!" Dawn said, and slapped Spike across the face.

Up in Heaven, Buffy inhaled sharply. "Ooo. That's gotta hurt."


	5. Chapter 5

It was Day 8 for Buffy in her new home. She didn't mean to count the days, but subconsciously it registered in her mind. Finding a cute outfit in her ever-expanding closet, Buffy got dressed and pitter-pattered down the stairs, heading out onto the bright and sunny street for her morning ritual- meeting Jesse and Doyle at the coffee shop for a sunrise mocha.

"Hey!" Buffy greeted the already seated pair with a smile, and slid into the chair next to Doyle.

"Morning Buff," Jesse returned the salutation and passed her the spare coffee.

"Hello Buffy," Doyle answered, sipping from his beer. Being Heaven, the coffee shop had an endless supply of free grog.

"How are things going in LA?" Buffy asked him, attempting to sound casual and actually achieving it.

"Fine," Doyle nodded, "no recent deaths."

Buffy smiled in acknowledgement of lack of details, but also grateful for the update.

"And hows the crowd in good old SunnyD?" Jesse asked, "I haven't been watching Willow or Xand lately."

"They're okay," Buffy replied, her smile fading slightly. Though the house fire incident had been hilarious, the four in the house had barely allowed themselves a giggle before a guilty silence had ensconced them, as if even laughing was disrespectful to Buffy's memory. She hated how they felt that way, although Buffy did admit to herself she did want them to grieve for her still, to never allow memories of Buffy to slip to the backs of her friend's minds.

"Don't worry Buffy, they don't forget you that easily," Jesse said, as if he had read her thoughts, "You're the kind of girl who sticks in your mind. I mean, I'm not the most memorable type of guy, even if you have been friends with me since kindy, and Willow bawled her eyes out for a week after I died. It was a bit of a confidence booster. Besides, your death- hello, talk about a big exit."

"That's true, lass. I just finished watching it on Jesse's DVD player yesterday, and let me tell you, it was tear jerking stuff," Doyle contributed, tossing his empty bottle of beer aside. It hit the ground, but instead of shattering, it simply vanished.

"Thanks guys. You're both a big help. I have to go now though, but I'll see you tomorrow right?"

Doyle and Jesse both nodded knowingly. "Patrol time?"

"Yep. See you later."

(A/N: Hey! Thank you all soooo much for the reviews! Happy happy happy! I know this is a super short chapter, but I just wanted to make an update, and I need some time for some inspiration, so yeah. Enjoy!)


	6. Chapter 6

Buffy settled in a familiar routine in front of the large television, placing the popcorn beside her on the bed. In Sunnydale, it would be night time by now, which meant one thing in the demon infested town- patrol.

It was nerve racking to watch her often less-than-capable robot counterpart battle vampires, though with help from Spike and the newly telepathic Willow things were going fairly smoothly.

The TV screen flickered for a moment, and then cleared onto an image of Willow, Dawn and Tara sitting around the Summers' kitchen table, the partly melted Buffy Bot lying face down on the wood.

"Are you sure you can you fix her?" Tara asked worriedly, gingerly poking the side of the robot's face.

"I think so. It'll take me a few more days to finish off the circuits and then re-do the skin, but it should be fine." Willow answered, twisting some wires in the Buffy Bot's back.

Dawn gazed down at the robot, a tear glistening under her eyelashes. Buffy knew her sister's tears had nothing to do with the Bot, and everything to do with the real Slayer.

She reached out and slowly traced Dawn's features on the screen, wishing desperately that she could hug her sister close to her and take away her sadness, be with her again.

And all of a sudden, the scene changed- Buffy was no longer looking at Willow, Tara and Dawn in the kitchen of her house, but at Spike sitting on a stone block in his crypt, a guitar in his hands. Spike's black-nailed fingers began strumming quietly at the strings of his instrument, and he softly began to sing.

"She comes to me after hard night's work

Falls in my arms and sleeps like a bird

Startled, she wakes up, like she don't know me

Cocks back her fist like she's going to slug me

Like who are you anyway, what are you doing to me?"

He paused in his singing, continuing to play so melodiously Buffy thought she just might be hallucinating.

"She's an angel, she can't see it

She's got wings, she can't feel em'

She's an angel, she can't see it

But she's flying above me, every day

Everyday of my life."

Buffy had no doubt now, however vain the assumption maybe, that Spike was singing to her.

"Bright diamond eyes with daggers beneath them,

She carries the chains of a million decisions

That weren't even hers to begin with anyway

But she carries them all, all the people around her

They never notice that she's very, very tired."

His hands never faltering in their playing, Spike looked up at his crypt ceiling and seemed to be looking directly at Buffy, a tiny smile playing around the corner of his mouth.

"She's an angel, she can't see it

She's got wings, she can't feel em'

She's an angel, she can't see it

But she's flying above me everyday

Everyday of my life."

Humming softly, Spike started a refrain of la, la, la's and smiled up at Buffy again, a tear trickling out of one eye.

Her eyes were mimicking his, and Buffy didn't even notice that he had stopped playing his guitar as he whispered, "I love you."

(A/N: Song's called 'Angel' by Ghost of the Robot, which is James Marsters' band, in case you didn't know. I might have got some lines a bit off because I wrote it from memory, but it's close and I don't own it! Ghost of the Robot do! Thanks for all the reviews to date, and I hope for some more, hint hint. Lol.)


	7. Chapter 7

The shopping bags hung limply in Buffy's arms as she breezed through the mall in a daze, people parting like the Red Sea as she passed through them. All that was on her mind was Spike, and nothing was distracting the young Slayer from him. However, one woman with cascades of curly, electrifyingly red hair was just as oblivious to her surroundings as Buffy was, and seconds later the obvious collision occurred.

"Oh, my god, I am so sorry!" the other woman apologised profusely, gathering up Buffy's shopping bags and passing them back to her.

Buffy was picking up the red head's bags, and groaned as she spotted sparkling fragments between the plastic.

"It looks like something broke."

The woman looked ruefully down at the shattered pieces, and then smiled.

"It's not really a problem…I was probably going to smash it myself anyway."

Buffy's questioning look prompted the woman to take a deep breath, clearly signifying a long story was to follow.

"Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. My name's Virginia Bryce, by the way. Maybe you'd like to grab lunch?" There was a slight plead in the tone, causing Buffy to smile and nod.

"Sure? Why not?"

Virginia beamed happily, pointing at a familiar building just outside the mall. "I know a great place just down here."

Buffy grinned in recognition and followed Virginia out the shiny glass doors to the small yet bustling coffee shop, where the pair plunked into the signature curlicue chairs and a waiter hurried over.

"What can I get you lovely ladies…oh, hey Buffy!" Jesse slapped the small blonde on the back, "whatever you want! It's on the house!"

Buffy laughed at her younger friend's antics. "Jesse, it's always on the house. This is Heaven, everything is free. Why do you work here anyway?"

"I like the comfort in familiar things, ok? And 'it's on the house' is fun to say, it gives the impression of having friends!"

"Haha. Anyway, I'll get a grilled wrap."

"Salad, Ranch dressing, thanks," Virginia smiled up at Jesse and he grinned back shyly, causing Buffy to roll her eyes.

"You're pathetic. See you back here in 10."

"Ciao." Jesse waltzed off towards the kitchen and Buffy turned back to face Virginia.

"So, I don't think I introduced myself? I'm Buffy Summers."

"Hi, Buffy. I know my invitation may have been a little abrupt, but it's a tight community here isn't it? Everyone knows everyone, and I needed a little guidance."

"Well, sure. I could actually use something to take my mind off things."

"Great! Well, I'll start close to the beginning. It instigated when I met my ex-boyfriend, Wesley-"

Buffy gave a tiny snort at the name, causing Virginia to break off in her story and look questioningly across the table.

"Sorry," Buffy replied with a slightly sour tinge to her look, "I used to know someone called Wesley is all."

"OK. It's a pretty funny story how we met; actually, he was pretending to be someone else! He was pretending to be a bodyguard type, this guy who's pretty famous in LA, where I'm from, called Angel."

Virginia broke off from her story again as a strange, wheezing, part-choking noise sounded from where Buffy sat.

"Sorry," she choked, her eyes watering, "I just swallowed some water the wrong way. Did you say _Angel_? A guy called Wesley was pretending to be a protecting type called Angel?!"

"Yeah," Virginia nodded, looking at Buffy strangely. "Do you know him? Wesley Wyndham Pryce?"

Buffy's eyes bulged and she wheezed some more, and a tiny amount of water splashed onto the table. Virginia wrinkled her nose slightly in distaste.

"Oh yeah. Wesley and I…we go way back."

Virginia's eyes widened slightly. "You dated?"

Buffy laughed. "Not hardly. He was my…I'm not quite sure what you'd call him. Teacher?"

"Oh? He was a teacher? He never told me that. I knew all about him being a rogue demon hunter, of course, and apart from that the only other one of his jobs he mentioned was his time with the Watcher's Council."

Buffy was beyond surprises pertaining to Wesley at this point, and directed most of her astonishment towards Virginia's revelation. "You know about demons and the Watcher's Council?"

Virginia's stare back was just as astonished. "Well sure. I was getting to explaining that when I told you about why I was going to break the talisman!"

"Oh, ok, go ahead then."

"Well, I'll give you the brief version. My father was a great magician, and many people were very jealous of him and the secrets he guarded so carefully. That's why he hired Wesley, to protect me; well technically he hired Angel, but for some reason Wesley was pretending to be Angel. It turned out though, that the person I was under the most danger from was my father himself. On his 50th birthday he attempted to sacrifice me to a demon goddess in return for power."

Buffy gasped loudly, but not at Virginia's words. Walking towards her was someone Buffy didn't expect to see in a long time.


	8. Chapter 8

"What now!" Virginia asked, somewhat impatiently, looking over to where Buffy was staring, open mouthed, at the man walking towards them.

He walked over to where they sat, looking slightly confused. He gazed around, as if he was searching for something.

"Spike! Over here!" Buffy shouted, attempting to wave him over. He didn't turn.

"Spike? Who on earth is Spike?" Virginia was looking at Buffy with concern.

"He's standing right th-" Buffy turned and looked at the space which, just seconds before, had been occupied by Spike. It was empty.

Virginia was wearing the expression Buffy had seen on the faces of many people looking at her throughout the years- she thought Buffy was crazy.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me today, I think I must have been dreaming…or something…"

Uneasy yet determined to tell her story, Virginia continued. "Wesley rescued me on that particular occasion, but Dad found another, lesser way to sacrifice me and did it anyway. And so now, here I am, up here talking to you."

"That blows. Your Dad sounds like a real asshole." Buffy answered, thinking about her own father. He may have abandoned her and Dawn to live with his skanky secretary in Spain, but at least he never sacrificed them to goddesses.

"That's why I wanted to break the talisman. See if anything would happen. Obviously nothing did." Virginia looked sadly down at her hands, recently manicured nails glinting in the bright sun.

Buffy wanted to say something, say to her that everything would be alright. But it wouldn't. They were dead, and nobody could change that.

Well, that's what she thought at the time.

(A/N: I know it's been forever since my last update, and I'm so sorry! I had end of school, and then a big overseas trip so I've only just got time on my hands to write. I also know this chapter is super short, and you're probably disappointed by my follow on from the über cliffie last time, but it will lead to important things in the next chapter… ;) Hope you enjoyed!)


	9. Chapter 9

After she'd said good-bye to Virginia and gone home, Buffy sat on her bed and rubbed confusedly at her eyes. Was this it? Was she really going crazy? She was dead, for God's sake! Wasn't Heaven supposed to be perfect?!

"Not if you're still too attached to home," a voice sounded suddenly from the doorway.

Buffy jumped in fright, but her heart rate slowed again when she saw it was only Jenny.

"Sorry to scare you Buffy, but you know it's my job to help guide you when you're a little confused…and the truth is, Heaven can never be truly perfect until you learn to let go of your old life. It's basically impossible, I know, with such easy access to it and everything," she waved her hand at the television across from Buffy, "but I'm afraid that's the only way…and you know the only reason I'm still here." Her eyes grew distant and sad, and Buffy knew exactly who was on her mind. She had never really realized just how, well, _together _Jenny and Giles had been, before they were cruelly ripped apart…by her own lover, no less.

"Jenny," Buffy asked hesitantly, "today I saw someone…and no one else could see him…can you go crazy up here?"

The sympathetic eyes answered with no words required.

"You know I'm here if you need me. I'll see you later Buffy." Jenny turned away and vanished, leaving a disorientated Buffy in her wake.

"I'm _not _crazy," she muttered under her breath, fumbling for the remote and pressing the worn _Sunnydale _button.

Once again it was her kitchen, but more crowded than she had seen it last time. Grouped around the table were Willow, Tara, Spike, Xander and Anya, clearly deep in discussion. And for once, everyone seemed to be listening to Spike.

"-Not there. Didn't see a trace of her." He was saying, chomping furiously on the cigarette clenched between his teeth.

"Are you absolutely positive though? 100 sure?" Willow asked, her hands tightly knotted together, "because we have to be certain that she's not there before we attempt the spell."

"Yes, Red, I'm bloody sure!" Spike answered angrily, the cigarette flying out of his mouth and landing in front of Xander.

"Ew. Spike spit." Xander grumbled, flicking the ground up stub onto the floor.

"Yeah, but how do we know you're telling the truth?" Anya looked directly at Spike, "because we all know you're in love with Buffy, so how do we know you aren't lying so you'll get her back anyway?" the question was phrased with her trademark bluntness, but the silence the reigned around the table proved Anya had just raised a valid point.

All eyes were trained on Spike as he slowly rose from his seat and walked threateningly over to where Anya sat, tense in her seat.

He leant beside her, and hissed in a venomous whisper; "If you think I would be so selfish as to do that Buffy now, try and take her out of Heaven when I knew she was there, then you are a complete and utter TWIT." On the word twit, he brought his fist down onto the table, which shook ominously.

For once, Anya didn't have something to say in return. Silence roared around the room, before Tara broke it timidly.

"Um…so it's settled? We're going ahead with the resurrection spell?"

Buffy sat up poker-straight on her bed. Resurrection spell? They were going to bring her back?!

"I think so. Any objections?" Willow looked around the room, eyeballing every occupant. Everyone flinched slightly, but no one objected.

"Excellent. There's going to be a few things we need- some may take awhile to track down. The Urn of Osiris for example. I don't have a clue where to find one. I sort of wish we could ask Giles…" Willow looked remorseful for a moment.

Yeah, Buffy thought, where is Giles anyway?

"I know Will, but we can't. I mean, how expensive is a phone call to England?" Xander joked.

England? He went back? Buffy thought of her Watcher, her mentor, the man she had come to think of as her father. She wondered how long he'd been gone for. It must have been awhile- she'd seen no sign of him in Sunnydale for several weeks and hardly a mention of him from any of her friends. But why wasn't he involved in the apparent plan to bring her back?

"You know it's not just that Xander. He'd never approve of this."

"Well," Xander suggested tentatively, "maybe he'd be right to disapprove, Will. After all, we're about to mess with forces we have basically no understanding of at all…we're about to screw with life and death."

Willow stood up, her eyes blazing. "My best friend is out there somewhere. And she's probably in pain. We checked Heaven, Xander! Heaven! And she wasn't there! So she's probably floating around in some Hell Dimension, being tortured for what could have been several hundred, maybe even thousand years!" Tears trickled down Willow's face, "Our best friend, Xand. We have to rescue her."

She sat, tears falling thick and fast into her lap. Tara placed a comforting arm around her girlfriend's shoulders and once again it was quiet.

It was Spike who spoke next. "Urn of Osiris? I'll see what I can do."

The TV went black as Buffy clicked the off switch.

Well, at least she wasn't crazy. By the sounds of things Spike had paid her a visit, but there was no explanation offered as to why he couldn't see her. Perhaps she simply didn't want to be seen?

Things had changed more in Sunnydale than she noticed. Giles was gone- Buffy couldn't believe she hadn't realised. And her friends were planning to bring her back.

(A/N: Yep, big new chapter, with some interesting new developments. More explanation to come…)


	10. Chapter 10

She lay on her bed, face pressed to the pillow, thinking.

But did she want them to bring her back?

Of course she did.

But did she want the repercussions that came with life?

New life rather. There had to be some serious issues that came with resurrection…and with being alive again came responsibility.

Back to the slaying. Back to college. Or if not back to college…starting to support Dawn. There had been too much going on with Glory for Buffy to realize the full repercussions of her mother's death. Not only were she and Dawn orphans now, but Buffy was going to have to be the one looking after her little sister, not to mention bringing in an income.

Buffy's chest felt tight as she realised Giles wouldn't be around to help her out anymore. Why did he leave? Why wouldn't they bring him home to help resurrect her? Surely he'd agree bringing her back could only be a good thing!

She put her head in her hands and rested the bundle on her knees. What was she going to do?

Or rather, what were her friends going to do?

Buffy had no control over the situation after all.

Back down on Earth, the resurrection spell meeting wasn't over yet.

Willow's laptop was out and she was busy scrolling down a list of eBay auctions, with Tara sitting beside her pointing out the occasional promising looking item.

Xander seemed to be upstairs in the attic if the occasional 'thump' and the following "OW!" was any indication.

And Spike was slurping blood from a mug, being watched closely by Anya.

After several minutes of the same, Spike plonked down his mug and looked directly at Anya.

"Something you wanted to say?"

"I'm still not sure sending you up in Heaven was the best idea," she replied.

"Anya, we went over this before. Spike was the only one who could go up because he's the only one who's actually dead," Willow answered, not taking her eyes off her computer screen.

"Well, I know. But still…" Anya trailed off, apparently having run out of ammunition. She simply sat and watched her coffee jerk slightly in her mug.

The silence was broken by an exclamation from Willow.

"Look! Urn of Osiris!"

(A/N: Pretty lame chapter I know, seeing as not much happened, but I felt like I should post something…I've been so busy with school and everything…but if reviews stay as low…my motivation gets lower…so review please :)!)


	11. Chapter 11

The others dashed to the computer, joined a moment later by Xander who had come down form the attic

The others dashed to the computer, joined a moment later by Xander who had come down form the attic.

"Wow, it's going pretty cheap, isn't it?" Tara commented, placing a bid for a few dollars higher.

"Keep bidding no matter what," Willow ordered, "we need that urn."

"So there's nothing to do now but wait?" Anya asked.

"I guess so. Everyone should probably try to get some sleep. The auction closes in a few hours, and until then we've done all we can."

Everyone said their goodbyes and left, leaving Willow and Tara behind.

"Do you really think Spike was telling the truth?" Tara asked Willow quietly.

"I hope so, Tara. I hope so."

.k.k.k.

Spike was alone in his crypt, nothing but the occasional spider for company.

He sat in his favourite armchair in front of the TV and thought. Buffy hadn't been in Heaven, otherwise he would have seen her. No, they were doing the right thing by resurrecting her.

Weren't they?

Spike sighed. Bloody moral dilemma. He couldn't even remember the last time these supposed 'morals' of his had kicked in. Probably sometime over 100 years ago.

The TV flickered into life and _Passions _appeared on the screen. Spike sat and watched it for minute, before jumping out of his armchair in a combination of nerves and disgust.

"Even _Passions _can't distract me! Argh!"

He threw his armchair across the room, satisfied by the several smashing sounds that ensued.

"Right," he said, "I think I'll go for a walk."

Stepping out of his crypt and walking for several minutes, Spike reached his destination and was very surprised to see someone else already there.

"Spike," the figure grunted in a kind of greeting.

"Hello Xander," Spike replied, joining him in front of Buffy's grave.

"What are you doing here?" The question was just as gruff as his previous words.

"Thinking. Wondering, I suppose. I think I've developed a conscience."

This raised a ghost of a smile from the former zeppo. "Welcome to the world of humans."

Spike snorted. "Yeah. I think I might just throw a party."

"Good to see the sarcasm muscle's still active."

Silence lapsed for a moment, before Spike cleared his throat.

"Erm…do you think this is what we should be doing? Bringing her back? What if we make things worse?"

Xander looked at the defenceless vampire for a long moment before answering. And when he did, his reply was simply, "You really do love her, don't you."

It wasn't a question.

(A/N: Again, I'm so sorry about the massive wait between chapters. Hopefully there's still some interest in the story, it's nearly done- 3 chapters or so left which I'll post soon because I have some nice lengthy holidays. Hope you enjoyed, reviews are appreciated.)


	12. Chapter 12

Willow and Tara were roused the next morning by a loud rapping on their door, which turned out to be the Urn of Osiris, courte

Willow and Tara were roused the next morning by a loud rapping on their door, which turned out to be the Urn of Osiris, courtesy of Ebay's express delivery service.

Willow greedily tore open the package, holding the urn up to the light to inspect it more closely.

"It's the real thing," she confirmed, an excited smile growing quickly on her face, "let the others know it's definitely tonight."

Tara hesitated. "Remember what else you need to do today Willow…"

Willow's smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression. "I know. It has to be done."

. k.k.k.

Buffy hadn't slept at all-she spent a majority of the night tossing and turning, before eventually flicking on her TV set. A different button had appeared on her remote next to the Sunnydale one, labelled simply 'Giles'.

Looking at it curiously for a moment, Buffy pressed it and watched as the screen, so often showing her own house or other familiar locations, began to play a scene in an apartment she had never seen before.

Sitting in an embroidered armchair holding a half empty bottle, illuminated by a glass mosaic dragonfly lamp, was Rupert Giles.

Buffy's heart just about broke in two as she gazed at her Watcher. On the coffee table in front of him were two framed photographs- one was an old picture of her, Giles, Xander and Willow from their days at Sunnydale High, and the other was him and Jenny, their arms around each other in a carefree embrace.

Buffy studied the second photograph. She had never seen it before- Giles wasn't much of a picture person, and he never talked about Jenny.

Buffy wished she had less selfish after Ms Calendar's death-she couldn't even recall asking Giles if he was ok, trying to help him out after the death of the woman he loved.

Both she and Giles blinked back tears as they stared at the pictures. Buffy vowed that once she was back, she would explain to Giles that Jenny was watching over him still.

The pair sat together for a long time- and just before Giles nodded off to sleep, an out of place smile crept across his features.

Strangely, he almost felt as if Buffy was here with him.

.k.k.k.

Sunset was fast approaching in Sunnydale.

The Scoobs were busy setting up in the cemetery in front of Buffy's grave, setting up the semi circle in front of the stone and lighting their candles.

And Anya, in her usual way, was whispering to Xander about their engagement announcement. "So now that we're bringing Buffy back, can I finally start wearing my ring?"

"Anya, shhhh! This is a resurrection spell! We can talk about our wedding plans after!" Xander replied in a low voice.

"Hmmph," Anya responded, glaring and shuffling back to her position in the circle.

Just as Willow was about to light her candle and begin the spell, Spike blanched and stood up hastily.

"Spike, kneel back down! You'll screw up the spell!" Anya hissed, attempting to drag him back down.

"I just realised," Spike said, ignoring Anya, "that if we bring Buffy back right here and now…won't she come back to life in her coffin? Under all that dirt?"

There was a collective gasp around the circle as the impact of Spike's words sunk in.

"Oh my god," all the colour had drained from Tara's face as well, "Imagine if…oh God."

Willow was slightly calmer. "Did anyone bring a shovel?"

Xander held one up, much to everyone else's surprise.

"What? I came prepared."

Spike grabbed the shovel from his hands and sunk the tip into the earth covering Buffy's coffin, digging out the dirt with incredible speed.

.k.k.k.

Buffy ran to the coffee shop, attracting stares from many passers by.

She arrived, out of breath, to enthusiastic hellos from Doyle and Jesse.

"Buffy! What's up? The usual?" Jesse rose from his seat, but Buffy vehemently shook her head.

"No time for that. You guys have gotta come with me."

The two men looked confused, but Buffy just dragged them both up by their arms and when she let go they both followed her at a run as she dashed off back to her house.

"Buffy, what on Earth is going on?" Jesse asked, as Buffy plonked down onto her bed in front of the television.

Buffy smiled. "Look at the screen and find out."

The image was eerie- four people on their knees holding lit candles, one man digging up a grave as quickly as he could.

"Uh…what exactly is happening there?" Doyle questioned, looking at the screen in bewilderment.

"They're resurrecting me."

Doyle and Jesse blinked for a full minute, attempting to wrap their heads around the idea.

"What?" was the only response Doyle managed to make.

"I asked you guys here so I could say goodbye- thank you so much for everything you've done for me while I was up here."

Buffy wrapped her arms around her two friends and gave them a massive hug, just as Spike unearthed the coffin and swung the lid back.

Everyone who could see the body- i.e., everyone except Buffy, grimaced. Death had not been good to the young Slayer; not to her body at least.

Then Willow began chanting- the spell had begun.

Buffy released Jesse and Doyle and turned to face the screen, her face of mask of nervous excitement.

The spell was a horrific spectacle- blood, snakes, wind- as the snake began to fall out of Willow's mouth, Jesse turned his head away in disgust and to his utter surprise, was able to see right through Buffy, who was sitting next to him.

"Whoa!" he yelped, "Buffy! You're disappearing!"

Doyle's head snapped around and he gasped. "You are!"

Suddenly, a wind began in Buffy's bedroom, roaring in their ears.

On the screen, Buffy's decomposed flesh began to congregate, becoming whole again.

As she became fainter and fainter in Heaven, Buffy shouted at Doyle and Jesse.

"Thank you so much! Watch me down on Earth!"

With that, she disappeared completely.


	13. Chapter 13

With a gasp, Buffy sat straight up in her open coffin, her head spinning

With a gasp, Buffy sat straight up in her open coffin, her head spinning.

The Scoobies reactions were mixed- Willow, weakened by the extreme effort of the spell, and collapsed onto ground. Xander rose instantly and moved towards Buffy, helping her up from the grave. Tara dashed towards Willow and cradled her, urging her back into consciousness, and Anya and Spike were frozen, too shocked to say or do anything.

Inhaling deeply, Buffy looked around her dark graveyard. She took in the twinkling stars, the soft damp grass under her feet, the warm breath of Xander beside her as he held her upright.

Tears trickling down her cheeks, Buffy hugged Xander.

"I'm so glad to be home," she murmured.

Anya jumped up and awkwardly joined the hug, as did Tara and Willow.

Buffy hugged her friends tightly to her, feeling her body growing stronger as her happiness soared.

Eventually their group hug fell apart, and the others drifted away to reveal Spike standing alone next to the open coffin.

Xander made a movement as if to step between them, but a quick consultation with his brain and a swift kick from Anya made him move back again.

Buffy stepped towards Spike, till there was barely a metre between them.

"Buffy, I…"

Spike never got to finish his sentence though, because Buffy leaned over and silenced him with the most passionate kiss many of the present group had ever witnessed.

That included Jesse and Doyle, the former letting out a low wolf whistle.

"Cough up Doyle, that's just under ten minutes."

"Ah, shut up," Doyle retorted, throwing his Guinness over the younger boy.

When Buffy and Spike finally broke apart, Spike looked a little disorientated.

"But…what…how…why…"

"You can stop with the single syllables. I'll explain everything in time…but something that I should let you know now- I love you too."

Spike blinked. "But how…?"

Buffy winked and kissed him lightly on the lips. "All in good time."

Turning back towards her friends, Buffy grinned. She couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"So, guys, don't we have a phone call to make?"


	14. Chapter 14

Two days later, Buffy stood on her tiptoes in the arrival section of the airport, holding hands with Spike, surrounded by her

Two days later, Buffy stood on her tiptoes in the arrival section of the airport, holding hands with Spike, surrounded by her friends and Dawn.

"Where is he?" she asked impatiently, "His plane landed twenty minutes ago."

Spike chuckled. "Calm down, love. He'll be through in a minute."

Dawn looked up at her sister and Spike, smiling happily. It had been an immense shock to hear of the resurrection, but she was so overjoyed to have Buffy back she overcame the fright quickly.

Spotting the familiar sight of tweed, Buffy jumped up and down in excitement. "Here's here! There's Giles!"

Letting go of Spike, Buffy ducked under the railings and ran straight at Giles, knocking him off his feet and enveloping him in a rib-crushing embrace.

"Buffy!" he wheezed, "Ouch!"

"Oo, sorry," Buffy let him go, and then hugged him again.

She picked up the luggage that had fallen off his trolley and helped him push it out the gates, where the other Scoobs pounced upon Giles, with cries of "we missed you so much!" and "does this mean you're taking over the shop again?" (Anya, of course.)

Giles grinned awkwardly at the attention and answered the flood of questions as they all traipsed through the dark parking lot.

He then noticed Spike and Buffy's intertwined hands.

"it certainly seems as if I have a lot to catch up on," he noted.

Buffy smiled. "You certainly do."


	15. Chapter 15 Epilouge

Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Buffy explained where she had been as best she could. She told them about Doyle and Jesse, and the redheaded Virginia.

She talked briefly about the enchanted television, but didn't discuss everything she'd seen on it. She reassured those who were involved in the ritual that they hadn't taken her from a blissful wonderland- that she was desperate to come home and that they had in fact saved her. The talking and discussion lasted hours, until eventually only Buffy and Giles were left sitting in the Summers' lounge room, for a moment in silence until Buffy cleared her throat.

"Giles…I did meet someone else we knew up in Heaven," she began, unsure of exactly how to phrase her information. "We had- guides, I suppose you could call them. Mine was Ms Calendar."

The expressions that mixed on Giles' face were impossible to read. It was a crazy mesh of sorrow, bitterness, and something else.

"She really misses you. She just wants you to know…she doesn't blame anyone for her death. Especially not you. She…she loves you, Giles."

A few tears slipped unchecked from under the ex-Watcher's eyes.

Buffy got up from her side of the couch and sat next to him, putting her arm around his shoulders and giving him a quick squeeze.

Far, far away from them, several tears escaped Jenny's eyes. And with a sad, brief, smile, she shimmered and vanished, leaving her Heaven behind.

THE END.

(A/N: Finally, the end! So, what'd you think? I hope you liked it...I really enjoyed writing it! Let me know! Also…should I focus on one of my unfinished, or start a new one? Thanks for reading.)


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